How do I p trap outside air on my quad 7100?

[21acrewoods]

Currently my 6" alum. flex duct comes out of the side of my unit, then goes up, over behind the chimney, then, up thru the ceiling and into the attic where it is vented out thru the soffit. I want to put a p trap in it before I close it all in but I am not sure if it needs to be directly under the ceiling or right beside the unit or in the attic space. Also, can I just bend the alum flex to make the p trap? Or do I need to use 90 degree elbows?

I am burning walnut that was cut down three years ago, cut into firewood last year, and I'm splitting as I go right now. Boy it is still green and doesn't want to burn at all.

 

[RonB]

Not sure why or if you need a P trap for outside intake air. Do you have access to the installation manual? It doesn't call for or suggest a P trap. The manual shows you the details/specs of the intake and says to finish with the supplied cap.

 

[begreen]

Currently my 6" alum. flex duct comes out of the side of my unit, then goes up, over behind the chimney, then, up thru the ceiling and into the attic where it is vented out thru the soffit. I want to put a p trap in it before I close it all in but I am not sure if it needs to be directly under the ceiling or right beside the unit or in the attic space. Also, can I just bend the alum flex to make the p trap? Or do I need to use 90 degree elbows?

I am burning walnut that was cut down three years ago, cut into firewood last year, and I'm splitting as I go right now. Boy it is still green and doesn't want to burn at all.

Is the ptrap required? What is the concern, windblown rain? For that condition, run the pipe slightly uphill from it's exit point before running downhill to the stove.

As you are observing, big trunk rounds don't really start to dry out until after the wood is split. Dense wood need a fair amount of time from that point on if the splits are large. Wood dries fastest when you expose maximum surface area.

 

[21acrewoods]

SCFA has a couple posts on here that date back a couple years, but he talks about how it is a real good idea and highly recommends the p trap. I know the owners manuel doesn't mention it, but I was thinking it might help a little bit with cold air infiltration prior to the shut off on the unit. It currently does run uphill so wind blown rain isn't a concern.

 

[LLigetfa]

In your situation with the air intake so much higher than the stove, a P trap won't slow down the influx of cold air at all. Just picture it with water instead of air. The weight on the high side will overwhelm what is sitting in the trap. It will work just like a siphon.

That said, a P trap would reduce the possibility of it reverse drafting, drawing hot gasses from the stove potentially reversing the chimney.

 

[21acrewoods]

Do you believe reverse drafting is something I should be concerned with?....should I do the p trap for that reason?

 

[LLigetfa]

The manual for my RSF warns that the duct must be brought down to floor level (my OAK connects near the top), that the intake must not be more than 12 feet above the floor, and that the intake must be 5 feet lower than the chimney.

The propensity for the chimney and OAK to reverse draft will depend on how cold the chimney could get and how warm the OAK could get. If there is a convenient place to install a shutoff damper in the OAK, I would do that. Mine will infiltrate cold air frosting the glass and sweating the stove if I am away from the house in very cold weather and have no fire going.